Nebraska's botched ending at Illinois a real head-scratcher

Had John McEnroe been doing color commentary on Saturday's Nebraska-Illinois game, I know what he would have uttered: YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!

Even Tom Coughlin, the Giants coach who mangled the late-game clock management in Week 1 against the Cowboys, probably would have opined: That was dumb.

A review of the situation: Nebraska was up 13-7 with less than a minute to play. The Cornhuskers had third-and-7 on the Illinois 27 and the Illini had no timeouts. Rush the ball twice and at worst Illinois has to go 70 yards with maybe 15 seconds to play.

Instead of calling a simple handoff, the Nebraska coaches had quarterback Tommy Armstrong run a bootleg. Rather than keep the ball, as instructed, Armstrong panicked after being pressured and flipped a pass that went incomplete.

Armstrong ducked reporters after the game, a poor decision for a veteran leader who could have explained things from his vantage point.

The Huskers, who fell to 2-3 with the 14-13 loss, had also botched their Hail Mary defense in the season-opening loss to BYU by rushing only three. And now the coaches have to explain why they called 31 passes (10 completed) on a windy day when their average rush earned 5.5 yards — and why Armstrong would freelance at the worst possible time.

It was apparent at Big Ten media days in July that some Nebraska players were still in a fog after the controversial departure of "Coach Bo" — the mercurial but loyalty-inducing Bo Pelini.

Illinois has needed last-minute saves to pull out its last two victories. But the Illini are 4-1, off to their best start since 2011 after Saturday's 14-13 victory against Nebraska in their Big Ten opener.

Offense

B. Illinois deserves an A+ for the game-winning drive. The Illini scored all 14 points...

Illinois has needed last-minute saves to pull out its last two victories. But the Illini are 4-1, off to their best start since 2011 after Saturday's 14-13 victory against Nebraska in their Big Ten opener.

Offense

B. Illinois deserves an A+ for the game-winning drive. The Illini scored all 14 points...

(Shannon Ryan)

Nothing has changed.

Who's No. 1? Exhibit A on my "polls are best ignored" philosophy: Ohio State remained No. 1 in both the AP and coaches'. Based on what? Beating by a touchdown an Indiana team that lost its quarterback, top running back and defensive player (to suspension)? Toppling Virginia Tech, whose only FBS victory came against Purdue?

A-. The Wildcats controlled the time of possession (34 minutes, 2 seconds to 25:58) and total offense...

No. 16 Northwestern enhanced its national standing with a convincing 27-0 victory against Minnesota in a Big Ten opener. A marquee matchup at Michigan is next on the to-do list for NU.

Offense

A-. The Wildcats controlled the time of possession (34 minutes, 2 seconds to 25:58) and total offense...

(Fred Mitchell)

Just outside: Ole Miss, UCLA, Stanford.

Memory lane: After Michigan wiped out Maryland on Saturday for its second straight shutout, coach Jim Harbaugh mentioned that the last time that happened was 2000. That season the Wolverines blanked Indiana and Michigan State before losing 54-51 at Northwestern. Yes, 54-51, with Anthony Thomas fumbling away a potential victory.

Next up for the 2015 Wolverines — Northwestern. This time, it's in Ann Arbor.

You've heard me rail on rankings, but if you care, Northwestern is up to No. 13 in the AP and Michigan is 18th.

Despite that, oddsmakers (at pregame.com) installed Michigan as a 12-point favorite before the line quickly dropped to nine.

Quick takes:Wisconsin paid the price for scheduling that joke-a-thon of home games in September: Miami (Ohio), Troy and Hawaii. Had the Badgers played a legit opponent, maybe they would have been more prepared to face a quality cornerback like Iowa's Desmond King, who intercepted two Joel Stave passes. The Badgers had more penalty yards (90) than rushing yards (86). … Don't believe Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz when he laughs off the tag of "New Kirk." Mr. Conservative passed up a 25-yard field-goal try at Wisconsin and later went for it on fourth-and-1 from his own 25.… I said it before the season, I said it after Cardale Jones struggled against Northern Illinois and I'll say it again now: J.T. Barrett should be Ohio State's starting quarterback. Jones isn't running with authority and is frequently misfiring in the red zone. The Buckeyes have just six touchdowns in 16 trips inside the 20.